S. Korean minister sees no alternative to six-way talks on N. Korea

Countering growing skepticism over the future of the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear weapon program that produced no major deal last week, South Korea's foreign minister said the three-year-old process remains the best tool to resolve the standoff.

Song Min-soon said he would visit Washington next week to discuss ways to move the talks forward in what would be his first trip to the United States in his capacity as Seoul's top diplomat.

"The six-way process has more strengths than weak points, and there is no alternative to replace it," Song, formerly South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, said in a press briefing.

He stressed that last week's talks in Beijing, which resumed after a 13-month break, bore some fruit.

"Although the parties failed to hammer out a concrete compromise, they had in-depth discussions on initial steps in implementing the Sept. 19 joint statement," he said, referring to last year's agreement in which the North vowed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

Song also said that it was meaningful that the U.S. and North Korea brought the thorny issue of sanctions on a Macau bank to the table.

The two sides formed a working group on the sidelines of the nuclear talks in which their financial experts discussed how to resolve the dispute over Washington's sanctions on the Banco Delta Asia, which the U.S. has claimed serves as a base for North Korea's financial crimes. The North however has denied any wrongdoing.

"North Korea said it would review specific measures presented by the U.S., South Korea, and other parties involved," Song said, expressing hope that the North will come back to the talks with a "wise answer" as early as possible.

With regard to his plan to visit Washington on Jan. 3-6, Song said he would meet with his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice and other ranking officials there to exchange views on the North Korean nuclear crisis and pending bilateral issues.

Seoul, Dec. 28 (Yonhap News)